The Glass in your Eyes
by some random gal
Summary: Cliff has a dark past, nothing new right? Now a new arrival to Mineral Town,the blond farmer Claire, says she's going to "break the glass in his eyes". Is she crazy or doing him a favour?
1. Chapter 1

HELLO EVERYONE! :) This is me, some random gal. To those who know me, i know I haven't finished 'Mystique in our Relationship' yet, but i can't help but put this on. But I must warn those that love cliff fics, I'm not sure if i will be able to finish this. If I am unable to, I have to delete it.

So now....READ!!!

The Glass in Your Eyes

Come and Go

Cliff sighed as he stared at the coloured window of Mary and baby Jesus. He was again in the church, sitting in his usual spot. He always spent his time in the church. It was all he could do. He didn't have a job and hardly spoke to anyone. The only friend he had was Carter, the priest but he was also a quiet guy. His life didn't seem much like a life. Not since he…Cliff squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head to get the thought out of his head. _I'm not going to go back there. That is all in the past now…_

'Hi!' Cliff opened his eyes to see a girl in front of him. She wore blue overalls over a checked shirt. She had blond hair and deep ocean-blue eyes that stared at me with playfulness and kindness. 'I'm Claire. What's your name?'

'C-Cliff…' Cliff stuttered, then looked down and mentally began to beat himself. _Stuttering at just saying my name. Nice one Cliff._ But Cliff was rather surprised. Not many people came into the Church. But when there were people, they usual just say hi or ignore him, whereas this girl, now Claire, said hi _and_ introduced herself. When Cliff looked back up, he found Claire's face really close to his. Cliff, literally, jumped back, but Claire's eyes widened as she stared at Cliff.

'Whoa…' She breathed, still staring and oblivious at the trauma she had just caused the man. Cliff thought she was staring at something on his face and instinctively brought a hand up. There was nothing on his face, but Claire kept staring at him. At his eyes. Suddenly, Claire snapped out of her staring trance and pointed a finger at Cliff. 'I've decided. I'm going to break that glass in your eyes!' She announced. Cliff blinked.

'Huh?' But before he could ask what she meant, she had left the church, as quickly as she had suddenly appeared. Cliff stared dumbfounded at the church door that was now closed innocently as if no one came or went. She had come and she had gone, and she had also left something weird. "I will break the glass in your eyes". What was that supposed to mean?!

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SO?! HOW WAS IT? I'm sorry if it's short. Please review and thank you to those who gave this story a chance. See ya soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! This is some random gal here! Now thi chapter is a rather useless chapter. They just talk here, but hey, if you like it, it makes me happy! Hope you enjoy!

The Glass in your Eyes

Conversation

Cliff lay in his bed, his mind still on the meeting between him and that girl, Claire. "_I will break the glass in your eyes."_ He was still trying to figure out what the phrase meant. He also found out from Carter that Claire was the new farmer of the old farm just outside the town and was wandering around introducing herself to everyone. Cliff remembered seeing a glimpse of the farm when he'd go over to the hot spring. The field that was supposed to grow crops was over run with weeds, rocks and sticks with a few tree stumps and boulders. Not what he'd call a farm. Still, who was he to talk? He didn't work himself. His thoughts drifted back to Claire. The girl that spoke words that didn't make sense… I'm sure it was a one-time thing, Cliff thought and he turned onto his side and tried to sleep.

Cliff was in the church again, staring at the window of Mary in a daze. Distantly, he heard the church doors open and by instinct, he turned around. He saw that girl, Claire, walking towards him.

'Hi Cliff!'

'Hi uh…Claire. Yeah, Claire.' Claire beamed.

'Yay! You remember my name.' Cliff didn't see how this was able to make her so happy. Still, at least he didn't become a stammering idiot like last time. Suddenly, Claire tossed a red apple to him. 'You can have that. A gut named Won sold that to me. Can I sit here?' She asked, indicating the space next to him.

'Sure. Go ahead. Thanks also. I like this.' He said, blushing a little.

'Glad that you do. That guy, Won, called it a strange name. Um…I think it was…Angel Eternal Pure Fresh Elegant apple. Yeah that.' Cliff blinked.

'Yep, a strange name.' He agreed. Hje took a bit out of the apple and chewed slowly. Cliff was stalling for time to think of a question to ask her. He decided to go with the simple stuff. 'Why'd you move into that…?'

'Ranch? You can call it a dump as well.' Claire's happy expression had darkened slightly as she frowned. 'I was conned into it.'

'…Conned?'

'Oh yeah. There I was, bored and reading the newspaper, and I see this ad of a _luxury_ ranch. Thinking it'd be cool; I quit my job and moved out of my apartment in to the ranch. But what do I see? Not a luxury farm, but a dump that has not one ounce of ranch material what so ever. Then the mayor comes in, tells me that I've been conned and then LAUGHS IN MY FACE!' Claire wqs beginning to shake in her seat in a compressed rage. Cliff was begininng to think that she might explode in loud angry rants. But then, she returned to her happy dememour. 'But don't worry. I got to get my revenge.' She smiled sweetly and Cliff thought it was wise not to ask what she did. 'What are you doing in Mineral Town Cliff?' Claire suddnely asked. Cliff felt himself shrink slightly.

'…I don't want to talk about it.' He mumbled. Claire's face immediately became apoligetic.

'Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-'

'It's ok.' Cliff cut in, even though he was far from what he said at the mere thought of the memories. His tone of voice didn't support the lie either, but Claire, which Cliff was grateful of, didn't bring up the subject again. Instead, they were engulfed in awkward, tense silence. Out of desparation, he decided to just ask it. 'You know what you said yesterday?'

'Oh, you mean the "I will break the glass in your eyes" thing?' Claire asked with evident relief on her face to be freed from the silence. 'Don't worry. I haven't forgotten. I will break it.'

'That's what I mean. What do you mean glass? I have not got any glass in my eyes. I do not wear contacts if that's what you mean.' Claire just laughed.

'You're just being ridiculous now. This is not something logical if that might help.' She winked. 'What I mean is for me to know and you to find out.' She said playfully. She then glanced at her watch. 'Oh my god! Look at the time. I should get going to the supermarket.' Claire stood up and brushed some invisible dust of her ovarals. She turned back to Cliff. 'Come by the ranch sometime. Don't underestimate what a girl can do when she wants it done.' She winked and then left with a happy wave. Cliff stared with a smile that he didn't realise that he was wearing. He stilll thougt that this Claire was slightly weird, but after today, he was glad it wasn't a one-time thing.

and that's that. PLEASE REVIEW! It makes me very happy and motivates me to write! I took so long because I only got one review in this so far! thank you to the one who reviewed! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone. Some random Gal here. First things first....IM SO SORRY i TOOK SO LONG! I WAS OVERSEAS AND I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO TELL YOU GUYS AND I WAS PANICKING FOR THE WHOLE TRIP! IM SORRY MY DEAR FANS FOR THE PANFUL WAIT! ahem.....thats one. The other one is I realised I didn't have many reviews. then I logged in and found that I had forgot to enable anoymous reivews. Im sorry. I have enabled it now. I hope I get more reviews! :D So now....READ!

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The Glass in Your Eyes

Reason

Claire comes to visit Cliff almost every day now. She'd come around 10:30am, talk to him for 1 or 2 hours, and then leave to do her errands. Every time she left, she'd always invite him to visit her farm. He always said that he'll think about it but could never decide whether to go or not. It's not that he don't trust Claire, but he felt really insecure around people. Plus he didn't know what to say.

Cliff woke up early today. 6:30 Am. He couldn't go back to sleep. Shrugging, he put on his clothes and went out. The Church was still shut. _Of course it'd be shut, it's too early._ But Cliff didn't feel like going back to the inn. He sighed and thought about what he should do? Then he remembered another person who'd wake up at this time. Claire. He could go over to her farm. But then he wonder if she'd want him there? _What a stupid thing to wonder. She had been inviting me for two weeks now._ _And I said I'd think about it._ Taking a deep breath, Cliff went south, the way to Claire's farm.

When he got there, the first thing he felt was surprise. He had been to the farm before just because he was curious and bored. At the time, it was nothing but sticks, stones and weeds; a complete mess. Now, he no idea how Claire did it, it was better. Not a lot, but still impressive. She had cleared most of the stones and sticks, though stumps and larger stones was still there. A patch of grass grew on the four corners of the field and crops grew around a small area. He found it hard to believe that someone, let alone a girl, could do this. Suddenly, Claire came up from the path south from the farm.

'Ah! Cliff! Hey, you finally show up. Welcome to Harmony Ranch.'

'Ahaha…sorry I took so long to visit.'

'Doesn't matter. You came right?' She smiled at Cliff, and he smile shyly back.

'Did you really turn the farm into _this_?' he asked in awe as he again let his eyes scan the seemingly impossible. Claire smiled proudly.

'Took a few all-nighters, but yes, I did. Ain't I amazing?'

'You sure are…'Cliff breathed and Claire's smile grew. Then a bark was heard and a small brown puppy ran past Cliff and into Claire's waiting arms. 'Ahahaha. Morning Pochi. Cliff, this is my dog Pochi.' Cliff hesitantly pat the puppy's head and it blinks at him cutely in response.

'Cute puppy. I like animals. I used to have a dog named Kuroi because of its colour.' He inwardly winced slightly at the words "used to", but shook it for it would ruin the moment.

'Cool. Well, thanks for coming Cliff, but I have a bit of work to do. Could you sit and wait a bit.'

'I could help.' he offered, but Claire shook her head vigorously.

'No. You're the guest and guests shouldn't do any work. Plus you have no reason to help. You could keep Pochi company though.' She gentle gave Pochi to him, got out a watering can and went to water her crops.

'No reason?'

'Yep! I act on reason. For example, the reason I'm here is because I need to restore and look after grandpa's ranch. He's dead.' Cliff bit his lip.

'Sorry…'

'That's ok.' A thought suddenly struck him.

'So what happens when your reason for living here is gone?' Claire stopped and looked at Cliff straight in the eye.

'Then I have to move back home.' She replied in a dead serious voice. There was an unexpected pang in his chest and a shiver up his spine when she said those words. It didn't look like she was joking either. Then the tension was broken by her suddenly laughing. 'Gotcha! I was kidding sorta. That'd be what I do, but it's not like this ranch is going to close.' Cliff blinked at her logic. _Good point_. 'And also,' she added, now pointing at Cliff. 'I still need to break that glass in your eyes before that happens.' _And there she goes again with that puzzling statement_. Cliff shrugged and Claire went back to work. After a minute, he took another watering can that was on the ground and joined her. Claire looked at him in surprise.

'I have a reason to help you.' he said. I turned to look at her, another shy smile on his face. 'Because we're friends, arent we?' The surprise shone brighter in her eyes for a second. Then it melted to pure happiness.

'Thanks Cliff. You've made my day.'

'And it's still early.' he mumbled to himself, but Claire heard and she laughed, and soon Cliff couldn't help but laugh too. And laughing was a nice feeling.

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*sigh*....this chapter seems sucky to me. But what do u think? review plz. Your words make me happy! ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

The Glass in your Eyes

Chapter 4

A Lunch to Remember

Some Random Gal. MORE FLUFF! I think I'm doing too much fluff, but if you don't like it, don't worry. It'll get serious later, it just takes time, but for now, I need to get the romance happening. This might remind you of the Cliff's Purple Heart event, because that is where I got it from. :D. I must also apologise at how un-organised and hastily written this is. To tell you the truth, I just popped up with this idea and posted it without any idea how the whole story is suppose to go. I'M SORRY! That's why it took me so long to post chapters. Anyway, READ!

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It rained rather hard a few days later. Cliff sat in the church as usual listening to the roar of it. He thought it had a sad, but calming affect when he did. He stared as drops of rained pattered against the window of Mary. Carter suddenly came out of the confessionary.

'Cliff. Welcome again to the church.'

'Hi Carter. Don't I always come here?' priest smiled.

'And I'm glad that you do. I always like your company. But I think you spend a bit too much time here. You should go out and make some friends.'

'Carter, you know how I'm like around people. I freeze up and stand as dumb as stone.' Carter smiled warmly.

'What about that Claire girl? She seems eager to be your friend.' Cliff thought about the blond farmer; Claire, the hyper, kind, strange girl that approached him around 2 weeks ago with her strange claim.

'…Yeah. I guess she's ok. Really nice, but kind of…strange. She says words that don't make sense sometimes.' Carter let a chuckle escape him.

'To you, maybe. But to me, it is as clear as a summer sky. And I'm glad that she is doing what she is claiming she's doing.' Cliff raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

'What is she doing?' Carter smiled a secret smile.

'I'll leave that for Claire to tell you.' Cliff was about to protest when the doors busrt open and Claire walked in, soaking wet, but a smile on her face. _Just when we were talking about her_, Cliff thought

'Hi! Carter, Cliff. I got you something.' Claire took out from her ruck sack a bottle of wine and handed it Cliff. Cliff, having never received a present in so long, blushed.

'Ah…thanks Claire.' He smiled sheepishly. 'I like this.' Cliff got the result he was hoping for; Claire's smile grew.

'Really? Glad you do!' She said.

'You know Claire,' Carter said suddenly. 'Cliff and I were going to have lunch.' Cliff stared at Carter in surprise. 'Want to join us?'

'What? Carter, we weren't-'

'Well, I think I have time. Ok!'

'Carter, what are you-'

'Cliff, could you set the table?'

'Um…well…'

'Thank you Cliff. I'll go get the food.' In a flash, Carter had disappeared into the confessionary. Cliff stared after Carter with a confused and bewildered expression. _What just…_

'Well…I guess I'll set the table…'

'Oh! I'll help you.' Claire jumped up and walked over to Cliff who was about to lift a table. Cliff's face lit up in gratitude.

'Really? Thanks!'

'No prob. We're friends after all.' Cliff felt a warm feeling fill his insides at the word "friend". But he didn't say anything. He just smiled happily and lifted the table. When Carter came out with food, there was a table in front of the alter, a white table cloth laid on top with plates, glasses and the wine that Claire brought.

'Hey Carter, took you a while to get the food.'

'Well, I'm here now, so let's get eatting.'

'I'm in!'

'Me too!' Cliff added, and they all sat down and ate.

'Ah…that was the best lunch I ever had, especially since it's with people.'

'Haha. It was fun to have lunch with you too, Claire.' Cliff smiled and nodded. Claire then glanced at the time on her watch.

'Whoops! A little over-time. Hope I can get back in time to ship the herbs I collected.' Claire got up went to leave. She turned back halfway. 'Thanks for letting me have lunch, can we do that again some time?'

'Whenever you like. Right, Cliff?'

'Yeah…' Cliff said hesitantly, then he gained confidence and smiled. 'Yeah.' He repeated firmly. Claire smiled again.

'Great!' Then she was gone. Carter stood up to collect the plates.

'See? Smiling and talking normally wasn't so hard.' Cliff stared at him in puzzlement then realisation flooded his face.

'…Yeah. I guess you're right.' Carter smiled serenely.

'I'm not telling you to let go of the past Cliff, but the past has passed. Today matters most right now.' Cliff dropped his eyes. 'But,' Carter continued, 'sometimes you need a companion to help you.' He stared at the door Claire just left out of, Cliff followed his glance. 'And I think you found that companion.' Cliff blushed, yet smiled at the same time.

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See? Totally un-organised. Hope you still like it though. See you next time and R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

hi...DONT WORRY GUYS! I HAVEN'T GIVEN UP ON THE STORY! Aniway....im going to retire unless i get alot of support but im not hoping much. YOu know, i used tot hink you wou;dnt get ani cookies from boys unless u had them at a blue heart or something, but Gray came and i only had him at a purple heart level. So Cliff is probably at pink by now. Aniway...i again apologise for the wait...ONWARD!

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The Glass in Your Eyes

Friendship Cookies

Cliff lay in bed at 9am, wide awake but with no intention of getting up just yet. Tat day was Spring Thanksgiving, the day where boys give girls cookies. Cliff turned onto his side.

'Thanksgiving…' He whispered for the 18th time that morning, and like the last 17 times he whispered the word, a picture of Claire's smiling kind face floated into his mind. Cliff had to smile. _Friend…_Cliff couldn't get over it. _Should I give her some cookies? Just as a thank you gift for being my friend? Just as friends._ Cliff nodded in making up his decision, and then got out of bed. When he went downstairs, all he found that was still in the inn was Ann.

'Morning. Up late?' Ann smiled. Cliff blushed._ Geez Cliff. Get a hold of yourself. She's just saying hello!_

'H-Hi. Can I use your kitchen?' Ann smiled kindly.

'Sure. Dad's out. I'll call you when he's coming back. Make sue not to make too much of a mess.' Cliff mumbled his thanks and went into the back to the kitchen. He searched the shelves for the ingredients and laid them on the table. He thought of how many cookies he had to make. _Well…some for Carter. He was the first person to talk to me besides saying hello. Some for Ann, to thank her for letting me stay in the inn. And finally, Claire, for being nice to me and being my friend._ Cliff smiled at friend. He still wasn't used to it, and would probably not be for a while. He measured everything carefully, mixed everything at a nice pace to make sure nothing spilt, and cut out the dough and put it in the oven. When they were done, he tried one. He smiled when they tasted right. He separated the dozen cookies into three groups, four for each person. Suddenly, a bitterness shot past him as a sudden memory shoved into his mind, so sudden he staggered against it, leaning against the table and squeezing his eyes shut.

_Young Cliff squealed in delight as his mother left a plate of cookies on the table. Cliff took a particularly big one and took a bite._

'_Mmmm!' Cliff moaned as he chewed vigorously into the treat. His mother laughed._

'_Now now. Don't want you to choke or get a belly ache.' Cliff chewed at little more slowly._

'_Mama, why are your cookies so yummy?' His mother smiled kindly._

'_Because I cooked them for someone I care about.' She answered, giving her son a hug. _

'_Mama, can you teach me how to make your cookies so I can make some for you?'_

'_Of course. I can teach you right now, if you like.' Cliff cheered and ran inside. 'Wash your hands Cliff!' After washing his hands, his mother showed him all the ingredients. She gave Cliff instructions and Cliff measured all the ingredients, mixed them together and cut out the shapes. His mother put them in the oven. 'Now we wait.'_

'_How long?'_

'_About an hour.' Cliff's face fell._

'_Awwww! That's too long!' Cliff waited around the oven for an hour, just sitting on the floor and every 10 minutes jumping up to see if they were ready. When they were finally done and taken out, Cliff cheered happily, but his face fell slightly when he saw that some were out of shape. 'Aww, they don't look as good as mama's.'Cliff's mother laughed and ate one of Cliff's cookies. She smiled as she chewed._

'_They may not look beautiful, but it's the taste that counts. And the taste is very yummy, Cliff.' Cliff flushed under his mother's praise._

'_That's because I made them for mama.' Cliff said, giving his mother a hug and then eating one of his own cookies. 'Mmmm…they do taste yummy!'_

'Cliff! Dad's back! Hurry!' Ann's voice broke though Cliff's musing through his memories and he opened his eyes, which, to his surprise, were still dry. He quickly cleaned all the flour, swiped the bags from the table and rushed out of the kitchen just as Doug came through the door.

'Thanks Ann. Here.' Ann beamed with a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks as she took the bag from Cliff's outstretched hand.

'Thanks Cliff.' She said strangely breathless and with a slight giggle. Cliff was confused of why she was acting that way, but brushed it off and, with a quick goodbye, headed for the Church. Carter smiled warmly as he accepted the cookies.

'Who's the last bag for?' Cliff blushed slightly.

'C-Claire.' Carter smiled widely again, but said nothing.

'Claire was here before, but didn't see you here, so she left.' Cliff mentally smacked himself for staying in so late and hurried to her farm. He found her just as she finished watering all her crops. Claire looked up and her eyes widened.

'Cliff! Thank god you're not sick!'

'Sorry…I slept in.' Claire stared slightly worried, but not as worried as before. 'Anyway…here.' He handed Claire the bag of cookies. Claire accepted it, but stared at it, puzzled.

'…What's this?' Cliff felt the blood rush to his face and he bowed his head in an attempt to not let Claire see.

'Well…today is Spring Thanksgiving…and guys make cookies for girls that they like…' Cliff's voice trailed off and his blush deepened as he said the last part. Claire stared at him, slowly taking in what he said and her face lit up in recognition and a deep red hue appeared on her face.

'T-Then…this is-oh Cliff! I-I don't know what to say!' Cliff looked up and gave an awkward smile.

'You are my…_friend_ and all so, I just want to say thank you.' Claire's eyes widened, then her face broke in a bright smile.

'Thank you so much Cliff. I really appreciate it.' She pulled the ribbon that held bag close and took out one of the cookies. She bit into it and Cliff held his breath. Claire chewed slowly and swallowed. Then she closed her eyes in pleasure. 'Mmmm. These are really good. What's your secret to making these taste so good?' Cliff smiled happily as Claire eagerly muched on another cookie. _The secret is that I made them for someone I care about..._

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So? like it? sorry if it seemed a bit rushed but I was writing it during class because I finished me work and time just lew so...yer....aniway....looking forward to reviews though im not getting me hopes up.....sorry. I just had a sad day today.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, Some Random Gal here. Now I know I have been away for a bit but that's because, I have to admit, I actually haven't played MFoMT in ages so I had to start the game again to remember what events were in summer. And I know the title sucks, but I have no idea what to title it. So, enjoy.

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Glass in your Eyes

A Fishy Summer Start

Cliff stood outside the Inn and stretched, loving the feel of the summer sun on his face. Summer. He loved it. He loved the clear, blue sky and the bright, warm sunshine. He loved the sound of the cicadas calling when he walked through the woods and the beautiful pink summer blossoms that grew there. Yep. Summer was a season to love. He heaved a contented sigh and began to walk toward the Church. As he was going to turn left, he bumped into a familiar blond. Claire stumbled and dropped something.

'Oh!' Cliff quickly grabbed the girl by the shoulders, helping her stand upright. 'Claire! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you.' Claire merely grunted in response and picked up what she dropped, a fishing rod. Cliff felt a small drop of panic form in his stomach at her response. 'Claire? I really am sorry. Are you mad at me?' Claire stared at him, wide-eyed.

'…What? Oh Cliff! No I'm not mad at you. Sorry if I seemed that way.' She gave a sheepish smile. 'Summer just makes me…irritable.' Cliff blinked.

'Irritable? Do you hate summer?' Claire gave an embarrassed chuckle and rubbed the back of her neck.

'Oh no! I don't hate it. It's the most profitable season out of all four, and my birthday is in it too.' Cliff's ears pricked up. _Claire's birthday?_ 'But,' Claire was saying. 'Summer also brings insects, which is one of the things I despise, and it gets too hot for my taste. Especially since I only have these overalls to wear.' Cliff nodded understandingly.

'Yes, it does get pretty hot. I suppose it does get humid inside the Church. I'm surprised Carter can wear those robes and not even break a sweat.' The two giggled.

'Well Cliff, why don't you come to the beach with me? Zack got me this fishing rod and I wanna try it out.' Cliff frowned a little.

'Well, I'd feel really bad for leaving Carter alone…' Claire grinned and smacked him on the back.

'Don't worry. We'll come back and give him a third of what we catch.' Cliff's frown deepened a little.

'But I thought priest can't eat meat.' Claire blinked.

'And I thought fish wasn't classified as meat.' The two shared a thoughtful silence, before shrugging and smiling at each other.

'Oh well!'

'So hot! I can't stand it!'

'It's the beach Claire. What can you do?' Cliff couldn't fight back the grin of amusement as Claire grumbled and sat down on the port, starting to prepare her fishing rod. Cliff sat down next to her and fidgeted a little. 'So Claire, your birthday…'

'Hmm?'

'When is it?'

'Do I get to know yours in return?' Claire asked, casting out her line. Cliff chuckled

'Seems fair. 6th of summer.' Claire's eyes lit up.

'Really? I better think of a present for you then. Mine's in the 27th. A long way from here.' Cliff made a mental note in his mind. _27__th__…I wonder what I should get her?_ 'Do you like fish?' Claire asked randomly. Cliff stared at her weirdly.

'That's a rather strange and random topic to talk about.' Claire tutted and wagged a finger at him.

'No it's not. We're fishing….well, I'm fishing. So naturally we talk of fish. So, do you like fish?' Cliff laughed at Claire's sense of logic and went with the flow.

'Yes, I do like fish. I like sushi and I like grilled fish and I like fish soup. What else is there that has fish in it?' Claire giggled and was about to add to the list when there was a tug on the line.

'Yay~! A fish!' Claire stood up and began tugging on the line. 'This is…one…stubborn fish!' Claire grunted, pulling hard on the rod. Cliff stood up and grabbed the rod.

'I'll help. On three.' Claire nodded and took a deep breath. 'One…two…'

'Three!' The two heaved hard on the rod and they saw something splash briefly on the surface of the water. 'We're dragging it up Cliff! Again! One! Two!'

'Three!' Again they heaved and the fish was dragged up a little more. Again and again they heaved until finally, they finally got the fish out of the water.

'Whoo hoo~! We did it Cliff!' Dangling from the line was a decent sized fish, squirming in the air. Cliff panted and managed a weary smile.

'Yes…we did. That _is_ some stubborn fish.'

'And it's thanks to you that I caught it.' Claire smiled at him then tried to grab the fish. 'Stop…squirming…' The fish was struggling for its dear life, spraying water into Claire's face. Cliff couldn't help but giggle. 'This is not funny Cliff.' Claire grunted just as the fish slammed its wet, slimy body against Claire's face. 'Blegh!' Cliff laughed harder. Claire wiped her face. 'That is not funny Mr. Fish!' Claire scowled and made a grab for the fish. She managed to grab it by the tail. 'Hah!' Claire exclaimed triumphantly. However, her victory didn't last long. The fish was still squirming violently, spraying water and slapping Claire in the face. Cliff was now laughing so hard that he was clutching his stomach and squeezing his eyes shut, and whenever he had a brief moment of recovery, he would peek at Claire and her battle with the fish and burst out laughing again. Suddenly, there was a yelp. Cliff abruptly stopped his laughter and saw that Claire had wandered a little to close to the edge of the port and her foot had slipped. Cliff shot up and grabbed Claire's arm, only to be dragged into the ocean himself. The two fell with a heavy splash. Cliff quickly swam up to the surface. He glanced around. He couldn't see Claire anywhere.

'Claire?' Cliff called out. No reply. 'Claire?!' He called out, a small bubble of panic rising in his throat. Then, Claire shot up from the water. She floundered for a bit, and then sank again. She was drowning. She couldn't swim. 'Claire!' Cliff quickly dived into the water again. He felt around for Claire, the panic beginning to make his inside contract. Then he felt his hand brush Claire's. He quickly grabbed it and dragged Claire back up to the surface. He swam to the shore and lay Claire on the sand. 'Claire? Claire! Can you hear me?' It was silent for a moment and Cliff wondered if he should do CPR, but then Claire began coughing violently, spitting out sea water.

'_Cough cough…hack!_ Salty…' Cliff gave a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the sand.

'Geez Claire. Don't scare me like that. Don't you know how to swim?' Claire finished her coughing fit and her face turned red, whether it was from coughing so hard or embarrassment, it was never known.

'I…uh…never learned.' She mumbled. Cliff gave her a stare.

'Really?' Claire nodded stiffly and the two were enveloped in an awkward silence. 'Well then!' Cliff said, breaking the silence. 'For your birthday, I am going to teach you how to swim!' Claire gave him a wide-eyed look.

'…What?'

'I can't be around all the time to save you from drowning. So, I am going to teach you how to swim.' Claire stared at him a little more, dumb founded, which Cliff found funny because it was usually him that had that expression. Then Claire broke out into a grateful smile.

'Thanks Cliff. I'd like that.' Cliff smiled back and they stared at each other for a moment. Then Claire gasped. 'The fish! I lost the fish! I'm so sorry Cliff! After all that effort it took to reel it in and I lost it. Dang that fish! I was going to give it to you as a thank you.' Cliff sweat dropped. _It's just a small fish Claire…_Cliff gave the girl a reassuring smile and patted her on the back.

'Don't worry about it. We may have lost the fish, but I had fun.' Claire slumped for a second. Then she heaved a sigh.

'…You're right. I had fun to. Let's do this again sometime.'

'Just try not to fall in next time Claire.

'…I'm sorry.'

* * *

I…guess it's ok. I guess. Hope you all liked it people. Until next time. Review please.


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